Announcing theme and first artist list of the 25th Biennale of Sydney: Rememory

Image credit: 1. Marian Abboud, Merilyn Fairskye, Michiel Dolk, Claudia Chidiac, Hoor Al Qasimi, Carmen Glynn-Braun, Paula Abood, Dennis Golding. Photograph: Dan Boud. 2. Merilyn Fairskye, Carmen Glynn-Braun, Marian Abboud, Michiel Dolk, Hoor Al Qasimi, Dennis Golding. Photograph: Dan Boud. 3. Art Gallery of NSW, Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Penrith Regional Gallery, White Bay Power Station. Photographs supplied. 4. Claudia Chidiac, Paula Abood. Photograph: Dan Boud.

25th Biennale of Sydney: Rememory
15 March – 8 June 2026
Artistic Director: Hoor Al Qasimi
Biennale of Sydney

The Biennale of Sydney has announced the title, theme, and initial artist list for its 25th edition, taking place from 15 March to 8 June 2026. Titled Rememory, the edition curated by Hoor Al Qasimi is inspired by Toni Morrison’s concept of rememory—a form of remembering that is not merely about recollection, but the reassembling of lives, bodies, and communities fragmented by history.

“History versus memory, and memory versus memorylessness. Rememory as in recollecting and remembering as in reassembling the members of the body, the family, the population of the past.” — Toni Morrison, Mouth Full of Blood (2019)

Exploring the politics of memory and the possibility of shared storytelling, the 25th edition will spotlight voices and narratives that have often been excluded from official histories. It invites artists, audiences, and communities to reconsider how memory shapes identity, place, and belonging.

As part of its community-centered approach, the Biennale has appointed Claudia Chidiac and Paula Abood as Community Ambassadors. They will advise on engagement across Greater Western Sydney and act as cultural liaisons, helping to foster connections between the Biennale and a diversity of local communities.

In today’s announcement the Biennale of Sydney also shared the first 37 artists participating in the Biennale, with a strong presence of First Nations voices from across the globe. Their work will open new conversations, highlight marginalised perspectives and invite audiences to see the world—and our histories—through a different lens:

Participating Artists – Initial Announcement

• Abdul Abdullah

• Ángel Poyón

• Angélica Serech

• Bouchra Khalili

• CAMP

• Cannupa Hanska Luger

• Carmen Glynn-Braun

• Chang En Man

• Chen Chieh-jen

• DAAR – DECOLONIZING ARCHITECTURE ART RESEARCH

• Daisy Quezada Ureña

• Deirdre O’Mahony

• Dennis Golding

• Dread Scott

• Edgar Calel

• Elverina Johnson

• Ema Shin

• Fernando Póyon

• Frank Young & The Kulata Tjuta Project

• Gabriel Chaile

• Gunybi Ganambarr

• John Harvey & Walter Waia

• John Prince Siddon

• Kapwani Kiwanga

• Lamia Joreige

• Marian Abboud

• Maritea Dæhlin

• Michael Rakowitz

• Michiel Dolk & Merilyn Fairskye

• Nancy Yukuwal McDinny

• Rose B. Simpson

• Tania Willard

• Taysir Batniji

• Tuan Andrew Nguyen

• Warraba Weatherall

• Wendy Hubert

• Yaritji Young

From storytelling circles and micro-broadcasting to children’s programs and intergenerational dialogues, Rememory will seek to generate a living, shared archive of memory. Its approach is rooted in co-authorship, collaboration, and deep listening, an invitation to reimagine how we remember, and who we remember with.

As Okwui Enwezor once noted, the postcolonial world is one of entanglement and interconnectedness. The 25th Biennale of Sydney, through Rememory, steps into that entanglement to propose new relationships between memory, history, and future-making.

More details will be revealed in the months to come. Follow our update and make sure to visit website and social media of the Biennale of Sydney for more information.